


Queen of Denial

by LiquidCaliban



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Clint Barton Is a Good Bro, F/M, Morons in love, natasha is oblivious
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-13
Updated: 2017-06-13
Packaged: 2018-11-13 13:24:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11186025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiquidCaliban/pseuds/LiquidCaliban
Summary: Steve loves Natasha. Natasha loves Steve. Clint is the only one who recognizes both, so thank God he's around.





	Queen of Denial

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Bananas in pajamas have nothing to do with this fic. But I don't own anything. 
> 
> Spoilers: Nah, but the timeline is pre-CA:TWS.
> 
> Note: I'm supposed to be working on my WIP here and my two WIPs on FFN, but I wrote this instead because I'm bad. I'm bad. Shamone.
> 
> Summary: Natasha is bad with feelings and Steve isn't smooth, so Clint is there to fill the interstitial spaces.

Clint looked around the dimly lit bar. The end closest to the door was packed with nervous looking tough guys, while Natasha sat by herself at the opposite end with a shot glass and a Stoli bottle. Shaking his head, he stepped over a humongous, groaning leather-clad biker-type on the floor with a broken pool cue resting on his shaved head. Clint took the stool beside Natasha and poured himself a shot into the glass the bartender hurriedly delivered. “Some reason you wanted to meet here?”

“No one on STRIKE will spar with me anymore,” she replied with a shrug.

“Y’know, they make punching bags.”

“It’s not the same.” She downed her glass and poured out another to chase it. “The sound when you hit it is all wrong.”

He sipped his shot rather than throwing it back, but it still burned. He would honestly have preferred a beer, but he didn’t trust the tap lines in a place like this. “Tell me again why we’re meeting here?”

“Good point. Let’s go.” She slapped some bills on the bar and nodded to the bartender. “Sorry about the mess.”

No one stopped her as she walked out with the bottle or gave her grief for quoting Han Solo. At least the guy on the floor seemed to be waking up. Clint didn’t feel particularly sorry for him. When they were outside walking down the sidewalk, he asked, “Did the guy on the floor ask you to be his main bitch?”

“As soon as I walked in the door he told me to come over so he could motorboat my tits.” She glanced down at the not-terribly-revealing v-neck shirt she had on under her black leather jacket. “They do look pretty good.”

Clint didn’t rise to the bait and agree out loud. “And all you did was break a cue on his head?”

“It knocked him out. Lightweight.”

“He’s lucky if he doesn’t have a skull fracture.” They walked quietly until they’d turned a corner. “You never told me why there.”

“Not like we’d see anyone we know.”

“You have an apartment or a dozen other places if you wanted to talk to me without being seen.”

She shrugged a shoulder. “I’d have to move if I went around punching my neighbors. And Fury would get annoyed if there was a police report and make me do paperwork for a week.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, we established that you wanted to beat up someone deserving, but why am I involved? Didn’t look like you needed backup.”

They walked down another quiet block before she asked, “How do you know if you’re in love?”

He stopped short at the unexpected question. Although he hadn’t been sure why Natasha had texted him with a request to talk at a dive bar outside the District, he sure as hell hadn’t been anticipating something so totally, completely… His brain short circuited for a moment and he was only able to mumble, “You…you’re in love?”

“I’m asking for a friend.” It was impossible to tell if the sudden reddening of her cheeks was due to poor lighting on the street or the rush of alcohol as she took a long pull directly from her vodka bottle. “A friend asked me.”

“A…friend?”

“What? I have friends besides you.”

“Okay, but…” He decided not to argue with the statement, instead focusing on her earlier question. “I’m sorry, who are you in love with?”

“I’m _not_!” She glared at him, all blushing defiance in the sudden illumination of a passing truck. “It’s just that Steve and I were having lunch yesterday…”

“Wait, Steve? Steve Rogers? You’re in love with Captain America?” He burst out laughing in spite of his better instincts. She had been spending a lot of time with Rogers lately, as Fury had designated her his liaison to the 21st century both for SHIELD training and normal life adaptation. Clint had volunteered a few times to help Rogers with modern weapons training, but he’d gotten the feeling that Rogers preferred Natasha’s company, even if he’d been nothing but gracious. Clint didn’t hold it against the guy; Natasha was a lot of fun if she didn’t hate your guts. “Man, you and Rogers? Laura is gonna flip when I tell her!”

He got a punch in the shoulder as a reward for his support, though it didn’t have any malice behind it. “Would you stop interrupting me and listen? As I was saying, Steve and I were having lunch in the cafeteria after I spent the morning teaching him some basic Krav Maga techniques and while we were eating he noticed Schneider from STRIKE and that girl from the hangar crew…”

“Courtney, the flight mechanic?” Clint had noticed her only because of his preference for pretty brunettes.

“Yeah, the tall one.  They’ve been dating for two months already, I heard. Anyway, they were getting a little cozy at lunch and Steve asked if SHIELD has any policies about coworkers dating, like Army frat regs, although I don’t know if those even existed during World War II, but… I explained that it’s officially frowned on but administration pretty much turns a blind eye if it doesn’t interfere with work. Then he kind of went quiet and started eating again, so I thought it was just one of those modern unspoken social rules things he’s always asking about, but then he asked me if I knew how to tell when you’re in love.”

“And you said…?”

“No, but I would ask someone I knew who did. And here we are.”

Clint waited for further information, but she only turned to look at him expectantly as they continued their aimless walk. When it didn’t come, he smacked himself in the forehead. “Oh my God, Nat. For someone so smart, you have the emotional intelligence of a toddler.”

“Just because I’m not a slave to my emotions…”

“Oh, no. You don’t get to pull that dumb Soviet robot that doesn’t understand our primitive human feelings shtick.”

“I’m not…”

Unwilling to debate her stunted emotional development, which never affected her skill in manipulating marks on undercover ops but continually obstructed her personal life, he decided to ask for even more information. “What happened afterward?”

She shrugged. “We finished lunch and spent the afternoon talking about Eastern geopolitics. Then we went to Starbucks and a movie.”

“You went on a date?”

“It was not a date. We got coffee, then we saw _The Great Gatsby_ – we both read the book and the movie didn’t measure up, _at all_ – then we got dinner.” After a brief pause she added, “Because we were hungry. It was just a little diner. We’re just friends.”

“Friends who ask other friends what it’s like to be in love,” Clint filled in.

“Look, he asks me about tons of things because Fury assigned me to be his handler or whatever and it’s not like he knows a lot of people outside of SHIELD so…”

“So it makes sense that he’d fall head over heels for you. You’re his anchor in the scary modern world.”

“He is not…”

“What doesn’t make sense,” he continued, ignoring her, “is you asking about it unless you actually think there might be something there.”

“I’m asking because Steve…”

“Because Steve asked and you care about Steve and maybe something more about Steve and you have no idea how to deal with it. Face it, kiddo, you’re crazy for him.”

She pouted, actually _pouted_ , at him. “You’re a jerk, Clint.”

He grinned, knowing he’d finally caught her. “Yeah, but I’m a jerk who knows what it’s like to fall in love, so listen up. Does he give you a nauseous fluttery feeling in your stomach and distract you from people shooting at you?”

“Not in the least.”

“Good, because life isn’t a romantic comedy.” He tugged the vodka bottle from her grasp with some effort. “Seriously, though. Do you think about him a lot when you aren’t together?”

“Define ‘a lot.’” She made a weak effort to take her bottle back as she stumbled beside him.

“Yeah, that means yes. Do you like spending time with him?”

“Yes, but I like spending time with you and that doesn’t mean…”

He cut her off, “When was the last time you and me went for coffee before dinner and a movie?”

“You’re not trying to acclimate to a whole new…” She made another snatch for the bottle before demanding, “Is this like some dumb magazine quiz where you ask a bunch of stupid questions then add up the points at the end?”

Clint shook his head. “Trust your friend who’s in a successful relationship. Do you care what he thinks of you?”

“He…it’s…he only thinks I’m worth anything because of Fury. Fury’s the boss and Fury told him to work with me and that’s it. It’s a work thing. Once he settles in and meets some other women…”

“Yeah, hot redheads that kick ass and see more than Captain America when they look at him are probably a dime a dozen.”

“Hey, he’s a really nice guy when he’s just being him and if people just got to know him…there’s this nurse that lives in the apartment beside him…”

“Face it, Nat. You’ve got it bad.”

“I…” To his surprise, she dropped onto a stoop in front of a building. “Gimme back my Stolichnaya.”

He sank onto the steps beside her and handed over the bottle. “It’s not a bad thing.”

“Sure, it’s not bad for me. But he’s Captain America!” She nearly emptied the bottle when she raised it to her lips. After a brief coughing fit, she continued, “It couldn’t get worse for him, assuming you’re wrong and he wasn’t even asking about me. Like I said, there’s a nurse. And he’s getting too close if he’s asking me personal questions about love and…”

“Give him a chance. You like him, he likes you. Just…see what happens.”

She drained the rest of the bottle and leaned her head against his shoulder. “I still think you’re looking at it all wrong.”

“And I think Captain America would be totally charmed by a woman who sings Disney songs to my daughter when she can’t sleep.”

“Clint…”

“It’s okay.” He glanced both ways down the empty street, though he appreciated Natasha’s discretion. He reached up to stroke her hair. “Give yourself some credit. You’re great. Cooper and Lila love their Auntie Nat. Maybe Cap does, too.”

“He could do better,” she whispered.

“No he couldn’t,” he whispered back, wishing he had Laura to back up the assertion. Natasha wouldn’t argue with Laura.

She didn’t have a problem arguing with him. “Don’t lie to me.”

“I would never.” He hefted her arm around his shoulders as they stood. The empty vodka bottle clattered on the sidewalk. “C’mon. I’ll drag you home and talk more sense into you in the morning.”

* * *

“Hey, Steve.”

Clint tried to make himself small against the gym wall as Natasha greeted Rogers after he’d pummeled the stuffing out of another heavy bag. For his part, Rogers seemed surprised. From what Clint had heard, they’d been avoiding each other over the past few days. “Oh, hey.”

Natasha turned an uncharacteristic shade of red as she asked, “Feel like getting a coffee?”

“I already had two cups in the meeting this morning.” Rogers scuffed his feet, like he couldn’t handle another damn cup of coffee.

“Oh. Okay.” She turned on her heel and walked away, leaving Rogers looking agonized.

“Psst,” Clint hissed, not willing to observe any more unnecessary pain. “She’s not talking about coffee.”

“Um…”

“Ask her out! Coffee! Dinner! A date!”

“Oh!” Rogers sprinted across the gym and grabbed Natasha’s arm. “I haven’t had lunch. Do you want to have lunch? With me?”

Clint flashed a double thumbs-up at her before he ran out of the room. He was going to have good news when he Skyped with the family tonight, even if it was going to be a while before they met Uncle Steve.


End file.
